Installing light into safe

[ampleworks]

My safe is about as dark as a NYC alley! For the past year, I've been using some of those AA battery "tap lights" that used to be sold on TV. I've dealt with them since but the safe is in a dark corner of the room ("L" shaped room) along with the door swings toward the overhead light blocking it.

I have one of those 25" inch fluorescent "stick" lights (similar to this) that puts out great light and doesn't use much energy. Aside from being cheap ($10), it seems exactly what I need. I cannot justify spending $200-300 for the "official" Liberty Safe accessory lighting system!!

The light is too heavy and having a carpeted interior, double stick tape is out of the question. Aside from laying the light on a shelf and using screws, is there any other magical way to get this sucker mounted? If screws are the only answer, what should I be looking for in terms of size and such? I'm also keeping in mind that this is a non-replaceable light so if it breaks, the entire unit is replaced.

Thanks!

[Front Man]

A freind of mine uses "Rope Lighting" I think it's called.

I thought it worked pretty good, you can wind it around the outside perimiter of every shelf and down the sides.

I wanted to do it to mine but they didn't have it at Home Depot at the time I was motivated, and I forgot about doing the project.

FM

[ampleworks]

Are you talking about the lighting in the clear plastic hose that puts me in the mind of Christmas lights?

[Thomas Moore]

i use rope lighting in mine and love it. i have it snaked through the shelves and down the sides of the safe. by using the rope light everything is lighted.

i'm not affiliated with this site, just a reference.

http://www.ccl-light.com/docs/indoor/rope/index.html

[oddjob]

I have a friend that uses the small white X-Mas tree lights. He likes it. Strings it through an opening in the safe. Kinda cheap looking, but it works just fine.

[BerettaRacer]

I just got my safe a couple of weeks ago and was planning on using the rope lighting also. Just tap into the power supply cord from the golden rod and a switch to activate when the door opens, like a refridgerator.

[ampleworks]

I just did one of those Kentuckian engineering projects with 1x2 target sticks. We'll see how it holds up.

Tube lights will be the winner whenever this stick light decides to crap out!

[shred]

Rope lights rock because you can run them all over the place and hold them to carpeted interiors with strips of velcro. Run them off a motion sensor socket and you don't even have to drill the door for a switch.

[Carl Provan]

If you use the rope lighting go to Lowes or somewhere else that has "P" clips. The clips provided with is broke after about 6 months on mine. I use short drywall screws to install the lights with the "P" clips. It will also keep the safe warm if you leave the light on over night. Good for those cold damp winter nights after a day of shooting.

[Thomas Moore]

I'm with Carl on this one, I leave my rope lighting on all the time to keep my guns warm.

[IPSCDRL]

I mounted two under-cabinet type lights from home depot. Tapped into the same power cord as the goldenrod. The lights have switches built into them. I mounted a short one across the top and a long one down the side.

[gino_aki]

I got a kit of three of those tap lights from Costco that are equipped with LED's (kit comes with the batteries 3AAA) best thing about them is they also come with their own Velcro^tm, er, hook and loop mounting...perfect for carpeted interiors and battery life should be good.